Re: "Firewall blocks right to choose, brings question of PSU methods," Jan 27:

The flood of student backlash over Penn State's implementation of a firewall is misdirected:

1. Penn State is somehow "shirk[ing] responsibility" with this action. On the contrary, administrators are finally taking responsibility. The university setting, which couples an emphasis on personal freedom with high-speed Internet service, has fostered a student culture indifferent toward copyright infringement. Penn State has a duty to respect intellectual property (its main product) while promoting intellectual curiosity. Penn State is fulfilling that duty with a firewall that does not monitor content of network transmissions, restrict Web browsing, or prohibit the use of e-mail, instant messaging, personal Web space, file transfers with a U-drive and even (under certain circumstances) running a Web server. This measure does, however, prevent access to peer-to-peer networks, which are more commonly used to swap OutKast songs than astrophysics videos.

2. "It prevents students who are computer-savvy from using their home machines in advanced ways to transfer work to and from labs." If a student can't use one of the many other available tools to transfer work, are they really so computer-savvy?

3. "The money used to implement the firewall could be better spent...." The most valuable resource at Penn State is knowledge. Tuition ultimately ends up as research findings and greater understanding. This firewall will protect millions of dollars worth of hardware and data that are connected to the network, so that the cure for cancer won't be wiped from a professor's hard drive by an easily preventable computer virus.

This topic may be an easy target for sensationalist "big brother" rhetoric, but the only real and pervasive ramification of the firewall will be increased computer security.